Fringe is back

Fringe is back on TV! My favourite Sci-fi of the moment and I'm now catching up with what's going on with Olivia, Peter, Walter, Broyles, Astrid and the rest of the gang...including all of their doubles.


Is it just me, or is Fauxlivia still much hotter than Olivia? I think it's the red hair and the cocky grin.


I'm messed up, I know.

Return of the Fringe

It doesn’t seem like too long ago that I was extolling the virtues of Fringe, my current favourite Sci-Fi show. And now it’s back for Season 4.

Having just caught up with the first episode, it looks like it’s going a slightly different direction this year, and I’d guess the crux of the first part of the series is going to be the hunt for Peter. Glad to see this sides’ Agent Lee joining the team, and I like the intentional Ret-con of Walter’s relationship to the team without Peter. At least it gives the often underused Astrid more to do.

The show kicked off with Amber/Orange titles, and is still the only show I watch that gets me excited about a different coloured credit sequence.

Weirdly enough, seeing Olivia and Fauxlivia (both played by Anna Torv) in the same scene solidified for me how much more I fancy Fauxlivia. Not sure if it’s because she’s a red head or slightly evil. Either way, not sure what it says about me.

Living life on the Fringe

So that's the end of season 3 of Fringe. Whilst I won't make any outlandish statements like it's the best show on TV (because that's Game of Thrones in case you were wondering), it is just good quality, high-concept science fiction. And I'll admit that if I'm a sucker for one thing, it's good sci-fi.


Maybe it's down to my upbringing - a youth spent watching Star Trek with my mum and where every sick day meant doing either the Star Wars or Back to the Future trilogies. Or maybe it's just that I like a television show which actually encourages it's audience to think, rather than just shovelling bug eating celebrities or idiotic business wannabes in your face.


So I find my televisual choices leaning more towards the fantastical rather than "reality", and Fringe is up there with the best of them. I'll admit, I wasn't convinced at first. Pacey from Dawson's Creek as the second lead protagonist? Credit to Joshua Jackson, he gives a consistently credible performance as Peter Bishop, and has shaken off the shackles of teen-drama mediocrity. Anna Torv is solid as Olivia, giving the show a tough yet believable main character, and if anyone were to question her acting just refer to her OUTSTANDING Leonard Nimoy impression. Finally completing the trinity is John Noble as Walter, who is reason enough to watch the show. Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking. The supporting cast are great to, especially Lance Reddick as the always serious Broyles (a very similar character to Daniels whomhe portrayed in the Wire) and Jasika Nicole as the sweet lab-assistant Astrid, who I think is the heart of the team.


After sticking through a slow first couple of episodes the show really took off, and that's continued into the third season, which for my money has been most entertaining and definitely the most interesting in terms of story. I never really fancied Olivia, but when Fauxlivia turned up with her red hair and slightly evil demeanour, I was sold.


Plus there's the title sequences. I can't remember EVER being that excited about seeing a different set of opening credits, but I find myself cheering "Red Fringe!" or "Eighties Fringe!" whenever they switch from the normal blue for an episode. I don't even want to tell you what happened when I saw the dark dystopian delights of "Black Fringe". God I embarrass myself sometimes.


All in all, a consistently good show. It's not going to change your life, but it will entertain you for 45 minutes a week.


And in the end, sometimes that's all you need out of the TV.